Tahoe Pants

The out-of-print Tahoe Pants (from the Sewing Workshop) looks like a skirt but is really pants - sort of culottes, but way more interesting. The pattern was first published in the early 2000's. I made it once from light gray linen and was not impressed. It looked great hanging in my closet but I felt huge wearing it. I doubt I ever wore it outside my house. It's long gone from the closet.

Then Linda Lee, the sewing sorcerer, wore another oldie but goodie on her regular FB live program a month or so ago. Hers was the origami skirt, similar shape but an entirely different garment. This origami skirt was made in a drapey, brightly colored rayon. And she rolled the waistline up, shortening it considerably. These two changes made all the difference in the success of the pattern!

There is a new fabric store in town, called Melanated Fabrics. Yay! Sewing buddies and I visited and I found the perfect piece of flowy rayon for the Tahoe pants. And it matches an eTee I finished a month ago.

The Fabric: I have a love-hate relationship with rayon.  It is slippery and unstable. It hates steam. Top-stitching is nearly impossible. It is not easy to wash as it holds so much more water than the other things in the wash and throws off the balance. I hope that I won't need to wash it often since it's a loose bottom piece.

The back looks pretty much like the front, mirrored.

I think recent versions of rayon are more colorfast than older ones and the colors are rich. It is less expensive than silk with some of the same qualities. It feels nice against the skin and it has beautiful flow.

The Pattern: There is a mistake I failed to notice or document on my first time with the Tahoe pants. The pocket dots are marked too low on the side seams of the pant legs. So there is a raw edge of pocket at the top when the waistband is finished. I added a patch and it is not that pretty. But it will not fray.

At 5'5" I am glad to have removed 3" in length. I also deepened the hem a bit to give it more weight. I'm happy with the finished length.

The instructions are great and it's important to follow them in the order presented. I thought I might baste the pleats before sewing side seams. This led to much confusion, but I sorted it out finally.

One leg of the pants is much more narrow than the other. Both are wide but one is about twice as wide. It is a super interesting design, I think. The Sewing Workshop produced some wonderful puzzle patterns back in the day and this is one of them. There is no zipper - the waistband is large and is snugged up by overlapping and creating a final deep pleat. 

These feel great on. Now I'm trying to figure out what exactly will look best with them. I think the top needs to be short. I've tried on some tops and determined that short and wide looks good, as does short and fitted.

I was wearing this dark green eTee (also TSW) the day I bought the fabric. I hoped it would work with this fabric. When I tried them on together, the overall shape was not right. I felt quite dumpy. So I shortened the tee and I'm now quite happy with the result.

My white Odette tee shirt looks OK with it, too, but doesn't do anything for it. Now I want to make the Origami skirt. The older TSW patterns are wonderful!

West End Revisited

The first time I made these pants I was not happy with the look. I felt dumpy in them so it almost didn't matter how they really looked. Not to be defeated so easily, I made them into a skirt. I never wore that skirt and it disappeared at some point. Then I made them in linen and liked them better, mostly because I raised the hemline.

Just realized that they are culottes, not pants. I shortened them by 4 inches and poof - culottes. In my mind. If I had known they were culottes, I might have liked them better.

I like them now, at least this particular pair. I made them in a black rayon-linen blend (not Brussels Washer - more rayon than linen). It was easy to sew and I really like the fit quite a lot. The fabric has just enough drape to suit this pattern, I think.

Since this is the summer of dresses for me, I'll wear culottes too.

And the pockets are sooooo cute.

I think I'll make them again, maybe full length in silk. I think that would work!

I've also been packing for a mission trip to Belize (a.k.a. British Honduras from my youth). I am one of 4 chaperones for eleven 15- and 16-year-olds. I'm a little nervous, as I am more of a grandmother figure. But I pride myself on being low-maintenance. This trip should test that myth belief. I figured that out when I read that we are to bring our own sheets and towels and we must be able to climb and carry all our belongings. Oh my!

I may take these culottes. They are certainly comfortable and shouldn't be as hot as long pants will be. I have packed a pair of shorts, but, oh, my - shorts. Necessity dictates I wear them.

Using up some nervous energy, I made 3 bags yesterday.

This is going to be my watercolor and sketching bag. It's made of a stiff cotton canvas and trimmed with some selvage gifted to me at a sewing retreat.

I lined it with some quilt cotton.

Or this one might be my watercolor and sketching bag. It's made from a piece of fabric I free-motion quilted in a class - I need lots more practice. I had to hide some of the big goofs with little patches.

I also made a weight-less nylon back pack. Although this nylon is not waterproof, I'm hoping it'll dry quickly. It's the rainy season in Belize.

So here goes nothing!